


dictionary poetry challenge

by transplisetsky



Series: just me messing with words [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: #anyway, #dictionary poems, #dictionary poetry, #i'm using this like it's tumblr, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-21
Updated: 2017-02-24
Packaged: 2018-09-19 07:36:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 2,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9426914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/transplisetsky/pseuds/transplisetsky
Summary: this is just me messing up with words and trying to do something poetic.not doing a great job, if i'm honest.





	1. index

list of words: 

  1. ghost
  2. numb
  3. water
  4. gravestone
  5. pomegranate
  6. histriónico
  7. light
  8. ancestral
  9. angel
  10. extinction
  11. hope
  12. king
  13. wealth
  14. night
  15. cuervo
  16. trans
  17. crown
  18. escarcha
  19. ivy
  20. prestidigitador




	2. day 1; ghost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "please, don't fade on me."

ghost

/gōst/

_noun_

  1. your soul is a quiet cello hum sweeping through long, empty hallways and distant light. an army of manikins guard and serve you inside of this enormous mansion. they protect you. who are you?
  2. your bones are tied to each other through torn clothes and rotted words. you had never been really alive until the day you saw her jump. where are the firefighters?
  3. a shiver, stertorous breathing, the idea of the reminder of something. a wilted petal falling over a tea table. noise outside, lost.
  4. it hurts, why wouldn’t it? you're not a ghost. you're still fighting. feeling.




	3. day 2; numb

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "It's like seeing your blood after being stabbed by the person you would have given your life for; you still don't know what happened, but you're dying."

numb

/nʌm/

_adjective_

  1. you don’t feel your fingers. air cuts into your lungs and ice crystals form into your trachea. your ribcage starts to creak, your heart is being filled with fog. you don’t feel your fingers. there’s no warmth left.
  2. she stepped out of the door, her blonde hair swinging at her back. she looks like a dream, fading into consciousness. _i can’t do this anymore,_ will say her memory at night, _no - i_ don’t want _to do this anymore._
  3. eveything is covered with a gray veil. electricity running down your muscles, making you weak. your arms are heavy, you can’t listen to your breathing. abandoned under-construction. water falling in the distance. even ghosts have left.
  4. the bullet slams into your chest. you can hear your own blood vessels break and bloom. the assault rifle becomes a weight in movement in your hands; your back crashes into the ground. imbalance. the world spins and slowers. it has been a surprise attack, deep into the night. shots, shouts, falls. your mind is falling into a tunnel.




	4. day 3; water

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "it's hard to tell yourself you'll be okay if you don't believe it."

   water

   /ˈwɔː.tər/

_noun_

  1. **sea** ; salt and seaweed. wood creaks; a naval battle of the 18th century and clear skies turning grey with the promise of war and rage. blood and gunpowder run.
  2. **ocean** ; the mirror of a god and the last words of every corpse sleeping in its ribcage. easiness and funeral pyres.
  3. **lake** ; fantasy lands dying like withering flowers. thick mist and dense light. slow, slow, slower. gravitational. _you should have saved me in the dark room._
  4. **rain** ; “que a quedarme solo no me ha ganado nadie todavía”.
  5. **bathroom sink** ; crazy banter and mental health, blood and water and the smell of rusty pipes run side by side. it’s so cold and dangerous, no one can stay.



 


	5. day 4; gravestone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Some of them are here to preserve, the others are here as punishment. Prisoners, I would say."

gravestone

/ˈɡreɪv.stəʊn/

_noun_

  1. two gravediggers talk about the futility of burying the dead. there’s a woman crying in the distance. a skull breaks under the pick of one of them. a raspy laugh. _amen brother, amen_.
  2. bécquer escribió sobre una tumba sin nombre en el más angosto de los pasajes. lorca en verano encontró la suya. sólo se recoge un cadáver. poesía.
  3. the widow hides her smile behind black veils and a handkerchief. Her mansion is sinking under the ivy, the dust and the murder.
  4. moss and lichen and a pietà. a bouquet of roses or a rosary. from the pillars of the gate, a gargoyle watches the cemetery. angels always try to escape from the dead. they feel guilty.




	6. day 5; pomegranate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "She is flesh-hungry. Blood runs down the corners of her mouth. You've never been scared of death, but her beauty makes you fear pain."

pomegranate

/ˈpɒmɪˌɡrænət/

_noun_

  1. tombstones, chrysanthemums, hyacinths, smashed olives, dried blood, sandalwood. lips, hands, shoulder blades and scars. the distant starlight at midnight. _he's a knight, the knightma_
  2. violets and pansies and golden honey. gates of light and a laugh. she's up there, behind the silvery clouds. but myths are for children.
  3. or maybe those were fairy-tales?
  4. the boy in white never leaves his mind. who is he? _you’ve dreamt of me_. what had he done? _please find me_. his lips are red and his eyes are sad. _who are you?_ the bringer of death does not feel.




	7. day 6; histriónico.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the last time i saw you, you were still alive.

histriónico

/is.'tɾjo.ni.ko/

_adjective_

  1. the harlequin passes a hand over his suit _. it’s show time, bastard_ , says his reflection. the harlequin nods. the harlequin takes off his heart and puts on his mask. _it's always show time._
  2. two skeletons with gravediggers clothes laugh. the sun is rising from the west. one of them is wearing a crystal eye, the other carries a cage full of roses. a hand shots out from the grave and tries to escape. the skeletons laugh again. _here we bury the living._
  3. morrer é ficar morto.
  4. we should be happy, we should laugh, we make people laugh but why are we sad. why does it feel like people laugh at us for being sad. and laughs and tears and bright colors and dark costumes and the circus and the years. _what is this?_




	8. day 7; light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "light can deceive too. just because you can see it doesn't mean it is true or real."

light

/laɪt/

_noun_

  1. **incandescence** ; hundreds of feet under the purest ice of Antarctica the darkness swirls in its cage. the idea of silence it’s too loud to even start to exist. in the infinite distance, a newborn god opens its burning eyes. its heart explodes to life, hot white fire cutting through the dark.
  2. **starlight** ; he’s wearing white and his skin is luminous. stars born in his wake. he’s barefoot, walking against the dark. the palace falls behind. his eyes are sad as they reflect the night sky. you wish his eyes were on you. after him, you’ll never see light again.
  3. **moonlight** _; the closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes_.
  4. **sunlight** ; there’s a soft laugh in the distance and chatter. crystal galleries and masterpieces. the city is full of life under the grey sky. the statue looks at him with blind eyes. it’s beautiful, made of white marble and soft time. he rises on his tiptoes and he kisses her, in love. the guard looks at them and something in his heart breaks.
  5. **firelight** ; a butterfly lands softly over her nose but she’s dead. the butterfly is blue and black and the eyes of the girl reflects the fire. It is filled with rage and destruction, but as it burns your bones and lacerate your lungs, it warms your heart. _destruction can be salvation_.




	9. day 8; ancestral.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "this place holds the deepest secrets where everyone can feel them, heavy and gravitational over their shoulders."

ancestral

/an.θes'tral/

_adjective_

  1. white and broken pillars. ruined parthenons and lilies. the ghost of the echoes of chants and ancient songs. Achilles’ tears are kept inside the earth. no human has ever put a foot on this holy place. even the gods hold their breaths at its sight.
  2. his eyes are closed and his skin is cold marble. golden and raven and silk. the priests wear silver and gold against their black skin and monocord silence. _why do the purest light is born inside of darkness_?
  3. sand and desertic heat. rise and rise and raises. Thebas, city of the living. nenuphars and zithers, monsoon rains and incense. laughs and colors and spices and the name of a million gods. _see through our eyes,_ they say, _you’ll be blind._
  4. they are endless, gods summoned to earth, birthed by something older than light and time. something purer, something elder. you’ll never fully understand and you’ll never be more in awe as you’re in this moment.




	10. day 9; angel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "we've become what we wanted the most."

angel

/ˈeɪndʒ(ə)l/

_noun_

  1. in the beginning the lord said, _let there be cosmos_. and then dust burns into your lungs and light tears your skin off. nebulas settle into you skull and try to break its limits. it hurts, you feel in hell. but you breathe; _i’m alive_ , you say.
  2. you're wild. you're a pagan. you bring thorns and mischief to the suburbs. you sleep in trees. god looks down to you. you smile. _hello, father_.
  3. fall on your knees, o' hear the angel voices. o' night divine, o' night that leads to morn.
  4. you’ve slipped and broke all your bones. _why?_ , you ask yourself, shedding tears. you’re floating away from the lifeless body, leaving it behind. _why did god make humans so fragile?_




	11. day 10; extinction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "the sands of time have already begun to pour against you."

extinction

/ɪkˈstɪŋkʃ(ə)n/

_noun_

  1. you’re touching broken glass and banjo strings. sweat, poison, and tanned skin. sand runs between your legs, moved by the wind. in front of you there's only a wasteland. in front of you there’s only the horizon.
  2. put a finger on your neck pulse. can you feel it? it is your heart, can you feel it? it pumps through your veins, endlessly. unstoppable as you touch it. but now remove your finger. your chest is empty; there's no moon.
  3. ultraviolet silence. the believers have died, their bodies pilled on every corner and stair. the fires have died, the temples are hollow _. the gods… the gods! the gods have abandoned us…_ , mutters and trembles a bald man. the knight leaves, too.
  4. you are becoming dust, where's the fire?




	12. day 11; hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "life is not about doing or not doing, it's about trying. when you do something, you've finished it. and people tend to leave things unfinished. so i think all it's about trying. you try. you try and you keep trying. you'll try and you'll get a result. that's what i believe in."

hope

/həʊp/

_noun_

  1. she never wears green because she hates it. she never hides her cries because she doesn’t believe in hiding the pain. she believes and believes and believes even if it breaks her. she could start a riot with just a smile.
  2. a daisy in a wasteland. the lost bullet that hasn’t killed anyone. the birdie that survived the fall from its nest. the spring, the spring, the sound of wakening violins. the first morning two years after the war.
  3. a crack runs up the black armor. the glimpse of light before the rage.
  4. the wind moves softly her hair, caressing her skin. she knows, she knows, she desires. there’s so much light inside her, trapped behind her ribs and dark skin that flowers grow towards her.




	13. day 12; king.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "i've never wanted to be like this, so take it. take my throne and my life if that's what you wish. just take it."

king

/kɪŋ/

_noun_

  1. he has been expelled from the underworld. a knight wearing a dark armor decorated with flowers. in his waist hangs a bag with Charon’s bones and a worthless crown.
  2. the palace is golden and warm when he arrives. the full moon asks him to turn back, _go away_. but the prince sees him from his balcony. _mercenaries keep their words_ , the knight says.
  3. god's flesh tastes like dark wine and bread after dying of inanition. their bones are hollow, he can see the universe through them. Pan smiles and plays the flute with them.
  4. he should _kill_ him, not kiss him.
  5. the palace is in ruins.




	14. day 13; wealth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "it's curious how money and art have been always related between them, isn't it? and to blood, of course. quite curious, indeed."

wealth

/welθ/

_noun_

  1. Arabic songs and Indian spices. sandlands and the Ganges. the sun, always the burning sun. children's carefree laughter, temples full of gods and ancientness. _we are the free children of the earth_ , they sing _, we will be free again_.
  2. ornate palaces and obscure colors. royalty and the crown jewels. dark blue, dark green, dark red frock coats. excellence, neoclassical culture and intrigues. Spanish waltz, powdered wigs. we will never leave the 18th century. ( _the king is dead, long live the_ _t r a i t o r_ )
  3. his laugh flows dark and rich, like honey over polished ebony. Blood wine, hidden desires, slow burning fire. the boy slips into his dorm wearing a collar and a hidden knife. he knows, he knows.
  4. masterpieces and gastronomy. blueberries, blackthorns and naked branches. shadowy candles and jackson pollock’s paintings. meat, meat, _meat is murder_. he’s a murderer. he will rip your heart out.




	15. day 14; night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "the sun goes away because it already has seen too much pain."

night

/naɪt/

_noun_

  1. **starry** ; moonflowers bloom under the influence of stars as the ghost of your happiness– _of your memories_ –walks next to you. you hear the fireworks, the laughter and her beating heart under your ear. the trees speak Latin _. i will kiss her again, i will kiss her again._
  2. **sleepless** ; the stars disappear into the soft undertones of the new-coming morning. you’ve been awake all night, trying to decipher their mysterious twinkle. the skin under your eyes is heavy and you feel it rolling down, slow but surely. _will you cry again, will you cry again._
  3. **endless** ; silver pale eyes look back to their past. who was him before the fire?
  4. **party** ; the polluted sky over the city shines orange under your gaze. up there even the moon has fled. why would anyone want to live in this dystopic present? the music blasts through your bones. you’re ready to jump. will you ever feel alive again?




	16. day 15; cuervo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Raise crows and they will peck your eyes out. Educate them and they will rip out the eyes of those who try to kill them."

cuervo

/'kwer.βo/

_noun_

  1. their voices are raspy and strident. they’re spots of ink against the snow. their shiny eyes watch you with a homicidal desire born out of their need. you lay dead upon the white cold sheet and they attack. they will find their home into your flesh, opening it with claws and beaks.
  2. the knightmare draws a cynical smile when he looks up. Odin lays dead at his feet, his cold, blue eye fixated into the void. Huginn and Muninn try to watch with both eyes the deicide. he leaves the corpse for them to eat.
  3. _they bring death, bad luck and plagues_ , say the mortals, _fear them, they’re cursed._ they fly up, up into the sky and lands over the shoulder of Apollo. he looks into the distance, sad. _but he loves us_ , squawk the ravens, _Icarus let us rest into his ribcage_.
  4. _Nunca más nunca más nunca más nunca más._ the seas turn black. the poet dies.



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cuervo means crow in Spanish.


	17. day 16; trans.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "you can hide forever in the closet if you want to, but monsters can get to you there too."

trans

/trænz/

_adjective_

  1. body as prison, made out of flesh and bone. skin streched as walls, ribs as bars; scars are the only way to see the light. words tie your tongue and they make you swallow liquid gold. _i’m pretty i’m pretty, i’m free_.
  2. the clock ticks in front of your eyes. cat got your tongue. _next station_ , anounces a femenine voice, _daydreaming and selfhate_.
  3. a door and an abyss. needles and morphine. sore throat from screaming. [you’ve been in hell for six years and two hundred and ninety days.] you’re tired, it was a mistake. a mistake, a mistake, a mistake.
  4. _don’t cry_ , they spit, _we are suffering more than you do_. But then fireworks and music explode and you’re surrounded by your brothers and sisters _. i’m a mistake_ , you say. _we love you_ , they answer.




	18. day 17; crown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "it's not the object itself but the false belief that it makes worthier to whom wears it."

crown

/kraʊn/

_noun_

  1. **worthless** ; the ruins of an ancient civilization lays at his feet. reflections of centuries of glory and honor try to stop him from keep going. but his prince wears white while sleeping in his arms. the dragon looks at him. _a kiss and you will be king._
  2. **royal** ; the sound of a string quartet and the smell of a thousand perfumes. history of blood, inbreeding and betrayal. the poor are dying as the doomed king bathes in silk and milk. _he will take the palace_ , mutters the prince to himself, _you won’t be king anymore._
  3. **laurel wreath** ; hunger is unforgiving. a cynical mind and a power thirst soul. treason is unstoppable. emperors, rise. the gods look down in your favor. the roar of the people. panem et circenses.
  4. he doesn’t need a throne or a kingdom. the whole world fears him. where will start the fire?




	19. day 18; escarcha.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "you're cold enough but not strong enough."

escarcha

/es'kar.t∫a/

_noun_

  1. his feet break the thin layer of ice. air cuts into his lungs as the surprise begins to roll over him. he sinks into the frigid water. the surrounding land is deserted and dormant with winter and solitude. slowly he realizes this. _he’s going to drown._
  2. water heavy but still weightless lands on every surface. It blinds the car’s windows and shuts down its engine. cats run down the street, looking for shelter. he’s inside, drunk, numb, forgotten. different versions of the same thing, year after year, generation after generation.
  3. the soft crunch under her boots is the only witness of her approach. her skin is so fair that it can be seen in the darkest night. she looks cold, so cold, untouchable. she’s fragile.
  4. the gasoline reflects the moonlight and swirls in oily rainbows, but the firewood is damp and covered in brittle diamond dust. can the fire start?



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Escarcha means frost in Spanish.


	20. day 19; ivy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "i don't care about anything now. i look at you and all i feel is tired."

ivy

/ˈaɪ.vi/

_noun_

  1. white and deep green. climbing, climbing, surviving, conquering. there’s no gap or crevice that can escape. it seeks the purest light, like the hands of a mere mortal pleading for the warm and less than welcoming embrace of a god.
  2. it tangles itself around bones and muscle. its leaves cut inside the internal organs and scratch the skin from the inside. they open their way inside his heart, his eyes, his mouth. _i can’t feel air inside my lungs, i’m dead._
  3. the strength of nature bends down the god-complex of the humanity. Slowly, it takes apart one of their abandoned homes and winds around its pillars and memories. first comes the dust, then the destruction.
  4. it tries to escape as the fire consumes its body.




	21. day 20; prestidigitador.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "what we are is just the longlasting memories of the hurting children."

prestidigitador

/pres.ti.ði.xi.ta.'ðor/

_noun_

  1. juggling with knives and crystal shards, hands full of blood and screams of amazement. the applause reminds you the sound of the whip. the circus the circus the circus. runaways always go to the circus.
  2. _you said it was not inside my heart, it was. you said it should ter a kid apart, it does._ the harlequin, the animal trainer, the clown, the tightrope walker, the dancer, the magician, the knife thrower and the target sing. _you said it was not inside my heart, it was. you said it should ter a kid apart, it does._
  3. you’re lightweight but your sins are not. Your beliefs are starting to crumble, you’re running out of cards to play.
  4. the fire whispers secrets in your ear as you sleep. start the fire, start the fire, start the fire and let it burn.




End file.
